December 13 2012

9:35 AM

To preview the 2013 PGA TOUR season, PGATOUR.COM is counting down the Top 100 Players to Watch in 2013. For an archive page with the top 100 players and for an explanation on how the list was compiled, click here.

2013 PREVIEW: Martin Kaymer will be an official PGA TOUR member for the first time in his career, but the 2010 PGA champ, who has a home in Scottsdale, Ariz., figures to fit in seamlessly. He's tinkered with his swing over the last 18 months after spending eight weeks as world No. 1 but the real payoff will be when he starts contending in the big events again.

2012 DEFINING MOMENT: Kaymer ended the 2012 season on a positive note when he beat 11 others at the unofficial Nedbank Challenge. But his crowning achievement came in Europe's improbable come-from-behind victory at the Ryder Cup. After sitting out both sessions on Saturday, Kaymer reached out to fellow German Bernhard Langer for inspiration and then holed the 6-footer to win his Singles match with Steve Stricker that clinched Europe's record-tying comeback. –- Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: I would expect a huge bump in confidence out of Martin following his Ryder Cup performance. He clinched the winning point for Europe after having a substandard season. The German will draw on that experience for a long time to come. Martin struggled the past couple years after attempting an ill-advised swing change in which he tried to hit a draw in an attempt to win the Masters. In 2010, Kaymer was 173rd on TOUR in strokes gained-putting. In 2012 he ranked 12th in SGP. That's an impressive leap in performance. -- Fred Albers, SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio

BOLTON’S FANTASY OUTLOOK: It's ironic that the guy that was at the center of rumors that he'd forego his automatic berth into the Ryder Cup wound up converting the putt to clinch the victory for the Europeans. If you owned him in a keeper league, then congratulations on your timing. Not only has the German seemed to have ridden the wave of the euphoria at Medinah, but he's giving the PGA TOUR a go for the first time in 2013. That means that you can expect a career high in starts. He's also an automatic purchase in salary games at $576K. -- Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy expert